Hawks run over Scots for 28-14 win

Utilizing a punishing ground game, the Mountlake Terrace Hawks rushed for 358 yards en route to a 28-14 victory over the visiting Shorecrest Scots Friday night at Edmonds Stadium. The victory keeps the Hawks’ slim hopes for postseason play alive and some momentum going into next week’s homecoming game against Shorewood.

“I’m glad we were able to impose our physicality,” said Terrace Head Coach Tony Umayam. “The offensive line did a nice job taking over when they needed to. And Malcolm Johnson and Chance Ragsdale ran their rear ends off.”

Thick fog descended on the field in the second half, making visibility difficult. (Photo by Doug Petrowski)

Although Shorecrest was also able to move the ball some, their reliance on a more balanced attack and wanting to throw the ball more often was hampered by both constant pressure from the Hawk defensive front four and a thick fog that covered the field in the second half.

“I don’t know what happened at halftime, but, boy, the visibility was bad,” Umayam stated. “We don’t mind it because we want to play smash mouth football anyway.”

Hawk quarterback Justin Hopkins attempted just seven passes in the game, completing three for 7 yards; the Scots’ Nik Hendricks completed 14 of 20 attempts for 119 yards and one touchdown. And while the Shorecrest running attack did gain 177 yards, they couldn’t match the effort of Hawks’ Ragsdale and Johnson.

After Hawk Devante Downs was lost to the team because of his high school career-ending ACL injury last June, Johnson was expected to take his spot in the fullback position for Terrace. But the 5-10, 220-pound running back was unavailable to play in the first four games of the year, moving Ragsdale into that spot. Johnson became eligible to play on Oct. 4 and his presence in the lineup is paying off for the team.

Toby Munnis on defense. (Photo by Karl Swenson)

“Now we’re just starting to come together and they’re getting used to playing together,” Umayam noted. “They’re getting used to playing their more natural positions. When Malcolm became eligible, Chance could move back to the position that he played when Devante played.”

Following the game the Terrace locker room was alive with celebration from players and coaches alike. “It was one of those weeks where we had to vent out a lot of stuff,” Umayam explained. “We really had to come together. There were some internal things we had to handle. The coaches, we had meetings with players, players had meetings with players; it all came out for the positive. I’m glad that the guys responded well.”

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